James Hawes

Whitewashing Bismarck just won’t wash

The Iron Chancellor was the mere agent of an irresistible national mood rather than the driving force of German militarism, according to Katja Hoyer

Bismarck’s political ‘genius’ depended entirely on his backing by the Prussian Guard. Credit: Getty Images.

  • Blood and Iron: The Rise and Fall of the German Empire, 1871-1918

    Katja Hoyer

    The History Press, pp. 256, £14

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Because you read about bismarck

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